https://davidgiard.com/images/zenicon.jpgDavid Giardhttps://davidgiard.com/Thinker, technologist, and reader. My thoughts are my own.https://davidgiard.com/images/zenicon.jpgDavid Giardhttps://davidgiard.com/David GiardMon, 11 Mar 2024 17:09:00 GMTdavidjgiard@yahoo.comdavidjgiard@yahoo.comhttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/8ef23610-d382-47ff-956d-7dd679de42c0https://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/8ef23610-d382-47ff-956d-7dd679de42c0David GiardJordan Thayer on the AI Landscapehttps://davidgiard.com/post/8ef23610-d382-47ff-956d-7dd679de42c0https://davidgiard.com/jordan-thayer-on-the-ai-landscapeMon, 11 Mar 2024 17:09:00 GMT<div><p><img src="http://davidgiard.com/content/binary/TechnologyAndFriends.gif" border="0"> </p> <p><strong>Episode 791</strong></p> <iframe width="560" height="316" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WW5Pr71Z1fc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/WW5Pr71Z1fc" target="_blank"> Jordan Thayer on the AI Landscape </a></p> <p> Jordan Thayer describes the many types of Artificial Intelligence and their uses. Although Generative AI has received much hype recently, many other aspects of Artificial Intelligence remain relevant. </p></div>AIInterviewsTechnology and FriendsVideohttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/29daca3c-fa4b-4900-80a9-2c81c589fa7ehttps://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/29daca3c-fa4b-4900-80a9-2c81c589fa7eDavid Giard"Mrs. Doubtfire" Revived with Fun and Musichttps://davidgiard.com/post/29daca3c-fa4b-4900-80a9-2c81c589fa7ehttps://davidgiard.com/mrs-doubtfire-revived-with-fun-and-musicSun, 10 Mar 2024 09:02:00 GMT<div><p><a href="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Mrs.-Doubtfire-Revived-with-Fun-and-Musi_B707/MrsDoubtfireInChicago2024.jpg"><img width="244" height="176" title="Mrs. Doubtfire in Chicago 2024" align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; float: right; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="Mrs. Doubtfire in Chicago 2024" src="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Mrs.-Doubtfire-Revived-with-Fun-and-Musi_B707/MrsDoubtfireInChicago2024_thumb.jpg" border="0"></a>Robin Williams was a national treasure. His performance - including many improvised scenes - elevated the movie considerably.</p> <p>In 2019, Alan Menken, David Zippel, and Harvey Fierstein adapted the story into a musical, which premiered in Seattle before moving to Broadway a few months later. Sadly, the coronavirus epidemic derailed the Broadway run. Fortunately, the current North American tour brings the show to new audiences.</p> <p>I enjoyed seeing this show at Chicago's Nederlander Theatre on Wednesday evening. </p> <p>This version simplified the story to accommodate the many songs written for the production. </p> <p>Daniel is a recently divorced father of three who is frustrated that he is only allowed to visit his children for a few hours a week due to his unstable living and employment situation. He concocts a plan to dress as an elderly woman and work as a nanny for his ex-wife, enabling him to see the kids every day. It is silly and often illogical, but it works. The movie succeeded because of Williams's charm, while the catchy songs made the play successful. </p> <p>Rob McClure is charming as Daniel and his alter-ego, Mrs. Doubtfire, while young Giselle Gutierrez excels in the role of Daniel's daughter, Lydia.</p> <p>I refreshed my memory by watching the movie the day before seeing the show. It holds up well after all these years, but the live production's music and fun make the current tour even more enjoyable.</p></div>Theatrehttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/860bcd3e-3bfa-40c1-ab73-f881ead86e7ehttps://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/860bcd3e-3bfa-40c1-ab73-f881ead86e7eDavid Giard"Message in a Bottle" Tells Refugees’ Exodus Through Dance and the Music of Stinghttps://davidgiard.com/post/860bcd3e-3bfa-40c1-ab73-f881ead86e7ehttps://davidgiard.com/message-in-a-bottle-tells-refugees-exodus-through-dance-and-the-music-of-stingSat, 09 Mar 2024 18:58:21 GMT<div><p><a href="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Message-in-a-Bottle-Tells-Refugees-Exodu_B4F2/MessageInABottleInChicago2024-a_1.jpg"><img width="244" height="146" title="Message In A Bottle In Chicago 2024" align="right" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; float: right; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="Message In A Bottle In Chicago 2024" src="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Message-in-a-Bottle-Tells-Refugees-Exodu_B4F2/MessageInABottleInChicago2024-a_thumb_1.jpg" border="0"></a>Unlike many musical theatrical productions, the story of "Message in a Bottle" is told entirely through dance. It begins with a celebration in an unknown country that could be in eastern Europe or the Middle East or South Asia. The celebration leads to a courtship and a wedding, but a war interrupts the festivities, driving the people from their homeland. After several tragic deaths, a trio of sibling survivors flee their homeland, suffering exposure to the elements, life in an internment camp with abusive guards, and separation from one another - all while dealing with the PTSD of their loss.</p> <p>Music and dance drive forward the story of the refugees' quest for freedom.</p> <p>The music of Sting - who followed his stint as lead singer of The Police with a successful solo career - helps to drive the story. His songs provide the mood, even if the lyrics do not always exactly match the scene. In "King of Pain," he sings "There's a little black spot on the sun today!" as the dancers stare at the sky which flashes lights that clearly represent bombs dropping from attacking aircraft. "Every Breath You Take" told the story of an obsessed lover but serves in this play to underscore the unceasing oversight of the camp guards.</p> <p><a href="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Message-in-a-Bottle-Tells-Refugees-Exodu_B4F2/MessageInABottleInChicago2024-b.jpg"><img width="244" height="184" title="Message In A Bottle In Chicago 2024" align="left" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="Message In A Bottle In Chicago 2024" src="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/Message-in-a-Bottle-Tells-Refugees-Exodu_B4F2/MessageInABottleInChicago2024-b_thumb.jpg" border="0"></a>It is the dancers who advance the story, and it is surprising how much they can communicate silently with only their bodies and a few props. Their movements convey joy, despair, and anger without speaking a word.</p> <p>I grew up with Sting's music. His songs are familiar, like a visit from an old friend. But new recordings with updated arrangements make them sound fresher. </p> <p>During its brief Chicago run, the show pleased those who came to the Cadillac Palace Theatre. The Sunday evening performance I saw was far from sold out. It is a shame more people did not get to experience this emotional, beautiful tale.</p></div>Theatrehttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/8eb00fca-9152-4eb8-bab6-b676e2e49cedhttps://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/8eb00fca-9152-4eb8-bab6-b676e2e49cedDavid GiardGCast 170: Getting Started with GitHub Copilothttps://davidgiard.com/post/8eb00fca-9152-4eb8-bab6-b676e2e49cedhttps://davidgiard.com/gcast-170-getting-started-with-github-copilotThu, 07 Mar 2024 09:16:00 GMT<div><p><img width="100%" src="/content/binary/GCastBanner.png" border="0"> </p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ibjo3yoMhw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p><strong>GCast 170: </strong></p> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/-ibjo3yoMhw" target="_blank"> Getting Started with GitHub Copilot </a></p> <p> GitHub Copilot is a virtual assistant that helps you write, improve, and test your code. In this video, I will demonstrate how to use GitHub Copilot to assist writing PowerShell code in Visual Studio Code. </p></div>AICopilotGCastScreencastVideohttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/02054100-728f-4c9a-9d27-946666aff36ahttps://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/02054100-728f-4c9a-9d27-946666aff36aDavid GiardOren Eini on the Corax Search Engine Part 2https://davidgiard.com/post/02054100-728f-4c9a-9d27-946666aff36ahttps://davidgiard.com/oren-eini-on-the-corax-search-engine-part-2Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:08:00 GMT<div><p><img src="http://davidgiard.com/content/binary/TechnologyAndFriends.gif" border="0"> </p> <p><strong>Episode 790</strong></p> <iframe width="560" height="316" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8ryX-LX2zGo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/8ryX-LX2zGo" target="_blank"> Oren Eini on the Corax Search Engine Part 2 </a> </p> <p> When Oren Eini originally developed RavenDB, he used the Lucene library to implement indexing. Eventually, his team encountered limitations with this strategy, so they created the Corax search engine, which improve query execution time significantly. Oren discusses the challenges involved in creating this engine and the approaches they took to overcome these challenges. </p> <p> This video is Part 2 of 2! You can find Part 1 at https://youtu.be/NSNOYt6Od1U?si=ivZW29VT_05Wx5mq </p> <p> Links: <p><a href="https://github.com/efficient/HOPE/tree/master">https://github.com/efficient/HOPE/tree/master</a><br> <a href="https://ravendb.net">https://ravendb.net</a><br> <a href="https://www.infoq.com/vendorcontent/show.action?vcr=ae86cea5-4bff-4c58-a6cb-a86cb31b0ced">https://www.infoq.com/vendorcontent/show.action?vcr=ae86cea5-4bff-4c58-a6cb-a86cb31b0ced</a></p></div>InterviewsTechnology and FriendsVideohttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/eafd0a16-5335-4ade-a13f-2da3a6040869https://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/eafd0a16-5335-4ade-a13f-2da3a6040869David GiardFebruary 2023 Gratitudeshttps://davidgiard.com/post/eafd0a16-5335-4ade-a13f-2da3a6040869https://davidgiard.com/february-2023-gratitudesSun, 03 Mar 2024 15:48:09 GMT<div><p>3/3<br> Today I am grateful for dinner last night with John and Kim</p> <p>3/2<br> Today I am grateful for:<br> - a week in Seattle<br> - many thoughtful messages yesterday</p> <p>3/1<br> Today I am grateful for:<br> - lunch with Ted yesterday<br> - my first home Seattle Kraken game last night</p> <p>2/29<br> Today I am grateful for my first offsite since joining this team almost 2 years ago.</p> <p>2/28<br> Today I am grateful for:<br> - lunch with Dustin yesterday<br> - a party at Lucky Strike in Bellevue last night</p> <p>2/27<br> Today I am grateful to meet many of my co-workers in-person for the first time yesterday.</p> <p>2/26<br> Today I am grateful for my first visit to the Museum of Contemporary Photography yesterday.</p> <p>2/25<br> Today I am grateful to see Al Franken perform last night</p> <p>2/24<br> Today I am grateful to participate in a Black History Month celebration last night with BDPA</p> <p>2/23<br> Today I am grateful to talk with Glenn today.</p> <p>2/22<br> Today I am grateful to speak in front of a hundred people last night at a combined meeting of the Chicago Java User Group, Chicago Kotlin User Group, GOTO Conference, and Pittsburgh Java User Group.</p> <p>2/21<br> Today I am grateful for a fresh haircut.</p> <p>2/20<br> Today I am grateful to play my first 2 full games of pickleball yesterday.</p> <p>2/19<br> Today I am grateful to talk with my brother and sister in Australia yesterday.</p> <p>2/18<br> Today I am grateful:<br> - to Tim for a ride to the body shop and rental car place yesterday<br> - for dinner with Nick and Adriana in Kalamazoo last night<br> - for another season of Kalamazoo College basketball</p> <p>2/17<br> Today I am grateful for a new rear bumper on my car.</p> <p>2/16<br> Today I am grateful:<br> - to deliver a presentation with a partner yesterday afternoon<br> - to run into Raj in the office last night</p> <p>2/15<br> Today I am grateful for good doctors.</p> <p>2/14<br> Today I am grateful to attend a Chicago Black Hawks game last night for the first time in years.</p> <p>2/12<br> Today I am grateful for an exciting finish to this year's Super Bowl</p> <p>2/11<br> Today I am grateful for:<br> - a short getaway to New York City last week<br> - dinner last night with Nick and Adriana in Kalamazoo</p> <p>2/10<br> Today I am grateful to attend my first SoFar Sounds concert event last night with my son and his fiancé.</p> <p>2/9<br> Today I am grateful:<br> - to see "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" on Broadway last night<br> - for a guided tour of the Rockefeller Center and the view from the Top of the Rock yesterday afternoon<br> - to spend a day in New York City with Linda and Carol</p> <p>2/8<br> Today I am grateful:<br> - to see my first Rangers home game at Madison at Madison Square Garden last night<br> - for a bike ride around the neighborhoods of Manhattan yesterday</p> <p>2/7<br> Today I am grateful to see an exciting Devils-Avalanche NHL game last night with Austin, Peter, and Matt.</p> <p>2/6<br> Today I am grateful to Sylvia for an early-morning ride to the airport</p> <p>2/5<br> Today I am grateful for a rental car this week while my car is being repaired.</p></div>GratitudesPersonalhttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/9883ed30-9abd-4e66-932d-d7fd7944f378https://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/9883ed30-9abd-4e66-932d-d7fd7944f378David Giard"We've Got to Try" by Beto O'Rourkehttps://davidgiard.com/post/9883ed30-9abd-4e66-932d-d7fd7944f378https://davidgiard.com/weve-got-to-try-by-beto-orourkeSat, 02 Mar 2024 18:23:57 GMT<div><p>In 1924, Dr. Lawrence Nixon attempted to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary, knowing that Texas state law forbade a black man like himself from voting in the election. When election officials turned him away, Nixon responded: "I've got to try.' </p> <p>Beto&nbsp; O'Rourke grew up in the south Texas border town of El Paso, TX, where he witnessed firsthand attempts to prevent African Americans, Mexican Americans, and other minorities from participating in the democratic process. In his 2022 book "We've Got to Try," O'Rourke documents the history of Texas voter suppression, beginning in the days following the Civil War.</p> <p>Racist politicians, the Ku Klux Klan, and other proponents of white supremacy instituted poll taxes, closed polling places, limited voting hours in selected neighborhoods, and redrew districts to make it harder for some citizens to vote. The aggressors enhanced their efforts through intimidation, assault, and murder. These tactics were effective in limiting voter turnout among some segments of the population.</p> <p>Laws were often ineffective in fighting institutional racism. When the Fifteenth Amendment banned slavery, it contained a loophole allowing forced labor of prisoners. Texans increased the arrest rate of young black men, which continued to provide free labor to former slaveholders. President Lyndon Johnson (a Texas native) signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965, which should have ended these policies, but those in power frequently ignored or skirted this law.</p> <p>Although O'Rourke focused this book on Texas, the lessons are applicable across the United States. Worse, people continue to use these methods today. He includes two chapters on proposed integration reform, pointing out how xenophobia and stoking the fear of "others" is a powerful way to convince voters to maintain the status quo.</p> <p>Despite publishing this during his campaign for Governor, this is far from a "Campaign Biography." Instead, O'Rourke focuses on educating the reader about an essential part of Texan and American history.</p> <p>"We've Got to Try" remains relevant today. A failed presidential candidate recently inspired his supporters to attempt a violent coup on the US Capitol following his election loss, and some states are passing laws to punish teachers who point out racist activities in our country's history. Our first step in combatting discrimination is to recognize when and where it has occurred in the past.</p></div>Bookshttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/3b517d57-293f-4ab2-b9b6-5127bcf48ed1https://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/3b517d57-293f-4ab2-b9b6-5127bcf48ed1David GiardAl Franken Polishes his Act in Chicagohttps://davidgiard.com/post/3b517d57-293f-4ab2-b9b6-5127bcf48ed1https://davidgiard.com/al-franken-polishes-his-act-in-chicagoThu, 29 Feb 2024 20:45:24 GMT<div><p><a href="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/f5b2d11932c9_B28F/AlFranken2024.jpg"><img width="244" height="219" title="AlFranken2024" align="left" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; float: left; display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="AlFranken2024" src="https://davidgiard.com/content/binary/Open-Live-Writer/f5b2d11932c9_B28F/AlFranken2024_thumb.jpg" border="0"></a>He warned us. He told us this was his first time (and maybe the last time) telling most of these jokes. He told us we were his test audience, as he refined his material for a TV special. So, the crowd at Chicago's City Winery braced ourselves for an unpolished evening of stories, jokes, and skits. <p>The sold-out audience was sympathetic to both Franken's left-leaning politics and to his unpolished act.<p>At the early show Saturday evening, Franken's material ranged from political humor to rants about people in politics (Mitch McConnnell's hypocrisy in refusing to hold Supreme Court hearings for a Democratic presidential nominee; then rushing through the approval of a Republican nominee), and stories about his time on Saturday night live. He mixed in some scripts he had written for potential skits (imagining if Hitler ruled during the time of the coronavirus epidemic). The audience roared when he performed a ventriloquism act while wearing a KN95 mask.<p>The comic-turned-Congressman-turned-comic sometimes stumbled through his routines, often pausing to check his notes and ask the audience where he was.<p>Despite his lack of preparation, Franken is a very funny man with an insightful wit. And when he performs the completed show for a television special, it is doubtful I will get second-row seats, as I did on Saturday evening.</div>Humorhttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/4342cb2a-5e3b-4da5-a837-5781de09d306https://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/4342cb2a-5e3b-4da5-a837-5781de09d306David GiardOren Eini on the Corax Search Engine, Part 1https://davidgiard.com/post/4342cb2a-5e3b-4da5-a837-5781de09d306https://davidgiard.com/oren-eini-on-the-corax-search-engine-part-1Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:08:00 GMT<div><p><img src="http://davidgiard.com/content/binary/TechnologyAndFriends.gif" border="0"> </p> <p><strong>Episode 789</strong></p> <iframe width="560" height="316" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NSNOYt6Od1U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"></iframe> <p><a href="https://youtu.be/NSNOYt6Od1U" target="_blank"> Oren Eini on the Corax Search Engine, Part 1 </a></p> <p> When Oren Eini originally developed RavenDB, he used the Lucene library to implement indexing. Eventually, his team encountered limitations with this strategy, so they created the Corax search engine, which improved query execution time significantly. Oren discusses the challenges involved in creating this engine and the approaches they took to overcome these challenges. <p>This video is Part 1 of 2!<br> You can find Part 2 at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ryX-LX2zGo">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ryX-LX2zGo</a></p> <p>Links:<br> <a href="https://github.com/efficient/HOPE/tree/master">https://github.com/efficient/HOPE/tree/master</a><br> <a href="https://ravendb.net">https://ravendb.net</a><br> <a href="https://www.infoq.com/vendorcontent/show.action?vcr=ae86cea5-4bff-4c58-a6cb-a86cb31b0ced">https://www.infoq.com/vendorcontent/show.action?vcr=ae86cea5-4bff-4c58-a6cb-a86cb31b0ced</a></p></div>InterviewsTechnology and FriendsVideohttps://davidgiard.com/feed/trackback/3ee982dd-3a02-4698-b931-20e9f5ba95echttps://davidgiard.com/feed/pingbackhttps://davidgiard.com/post/3ee982dd-3a02-4698-b931-20e9f5ba95ecDavid Giard"The Candy House" by Jennifer Eganhttps://davidgiard.com/post/3ee982dd-3a02-4698-b931-20e9f5ba95echttps://davidgiard.com/the-candy-house-by-jennifer-eganSat, 24 Feb 2024 09:01:00 GMT<div><p>Jennifer Egan scored big with "A Visit from the Goon Squad," her unconventional nonlinear story collection that won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. She returned in 2022 with "The Candy House," which continues the stories of many of the characters introduced in "Goon Squad."</p> <p>As in the first novel, Egan uses a variety of styles to tell her stories. She switches from first person to omniscient narrator and back. Although she employs nothing as radical as telling a story through Power Point slides (as she did in her earlier book), she does employ some unconventional narrative technique. In one story, a woman on an espionage mission recalls her training (told in the second person) in real time, as she faces situations that require specific training messages. She relates another story entirely via emails between the characters.</p> <p>While her earlier novel focused on the characters surrounding music executive Lou Kline, this one is more thematic, exploring the role of sharing and oversharing with others through a powerful social network. It explores everything from understanding how others felt about us to the surrender of privacy to the government's weaponization of the technology. Bix Bouton - a minor character in "Goon Squad" - invents "Own Your Unconscious" - a technology that allows users to upload their memories for preservation and to anonymously access the recorded memories of others. This invention changes the world. </p> <p>Egan expertly foreshadows many of the story’s events. A conversation at a cocktail party about recording the thoughts of pets inspires Bix to create "Own Your Unconscious." And the above-mentioned spy mention leads to PTSD years later.</p> <p>Keeping straight all the characters and their relationships is a challenge, but that is part of the fun of this book. The children and siblings of characters introduced in "Goon Squad" receive their own stories here. Some of the connections are subtle. Miranda Kline, the reclusive anthropologist on which much of Bix's "Own Your Unconscious" is built, is Mindy, the young woman who accompanied her lover and future husband Lou Kline on an African safari in "Goon Squad." It is these connections that make the book fascinating and (sometimes) difficult to follow.</p> <p>"The Candy House" is a book I can see myself reading again.</p></div>Books